Santa Pictures 2011

Well it did not go like we had hoped it would go with Santa this year. Ever since Elliott was born we have gone to see Santa at the South Hill Mall and it has been a great experience. Well this year not so much. Elliott always loved Santa and would do a great job. Edith was not sure last year and this year we were pretty adamant that we were not going to sit on him. We took her to see him and just visit one day and he came out and talked to her and played with her and she did great but then we came back and tried the actual sitting on his lap thing and that was not going to happen. Elliott went right for him and Edith had the death grip on my shoulder. Santa then said that he had to go help his Elves and left and we got her to sit in his chair and play and then Santa popped up behind the chair and we got a few of those and then she saw him and was okay. We then thought that we would try the sitting on his lap thing again and well here are the pictures.



This was just a fun one that the photographer took. I asked Wes to hold my purse while I delt with Edith and the photographer asked Wes to fix Elliott's shoes and then the picture happened.

Pumpkin Patch

So every year since I can remember my family had made the trek down to Scholz pumpkin farm. Well when Wes and i had Elliott the tradition continued and now with Edith as well. We start of our trip with a stop at the coffee stand and get a seasonal beverage and then head to the pumpkin patch. When we got there Elliott and Edith were so excited about everything. Here is the one picture that mommy say's that we have to have every year. It is really hard to get both kids to look at you at the same time yet alone look decent.


We then headed over to pick out the perfect pumpkin and of course take some more pictures. It just so happened that as we were taking some pictures the tractor was bringing in more pumpkins. Both kids were fascinated by this!


We of course had to do the corn maze and all of the pictures that go with it and the photo opportunities on the way. It is so fun to see our kids having so much fun.

Edith is a little short to look through the cut out but she is trying!



Elliott was our guide through the corn maze. We only had to turn around once.


We tried to take their picture together but Edith wanted to stand by the princess statue!

Disneyland

It is hard to believe that all the waiting is over and we finally were able to go to Disneyland. We spent an amazing 11 days in California with family and Mickey and all of his friends. It just so happened that we were able to go for my birthday again. we made so many memories with the kiddo's and my parents that we will never forget and we are already planning our trip again in 3 years. The kid's had a blast and so did all of the adults. We started off the trip by visiting my Aunt's, Uncle's and cousin's Durate for 3 days and then to see Mickey for 6 days and boy did we fill our days! Here are a few pictures to recap our wonderful vacation.

These are some of my favorite cousins. We are missing 3 from the picture but we still had a blast together!

This is all of the family except the 3 that were missing. Thank you Aunt Patti and Uncle Mike for having us! We love you guys!

The perfect place to take our first photo of our vacation.



Edith would look at the characters but would not touch them.

This was the closest we could get her.

Edith LOVES Snow White now!




Our new favorite sunglasses that mimi bought us



Our delicious cookie treats one night.



This was the very last ride we did on our last day at Disneyland. It was so fun to share this special place with my favorite little man. Thanks for the fun ride Elliott!

Horseback Riding

Elliott has decided that being a cowboy would be pretty cool. It all started last year when we took him to the rodeo and all he asked us for was a cowboy hat, a real one! So a good friend of ours from church has horses and invited him to come out to her house and go riding we we finally did. He was in seventh heaven. She showed him how to brush the horse and even gave him a snack on the trail(their yard). He is now asking all the time when he gets to go again. Here are the pictures from his ride.

Checking out Ms Kathy's Horses

Brushing B to get ready to ride.

Saddling up

Heading to the field







First time petting a chicken.



Got to the very top of the tree fort but then had a hard time getting down.

Plum from the trail. Not to sure if he liked it or not

First Camping Trip

Ever since Elliott was little we have wanted to go camping. He is now 4 and Edith is 17 months and we finally did it. It was a lot of fun. Wes' parents have some property on the Cowlitz River and they decided to have a family camping trip. In preparation of the trip Wes and I were talking about what we had to do with the kids to make it like we remember. We had to roast Hot Dogs over the fire and have Hobo Pie's. the kids had a blast and so did we. We are going again for Labor day weekend since we know know that it is not that bad. We did not tent we used my parents Tent trailer so a little better. We even made it to Mt Rainier for a day trip. Here are a few pictures.

Edith in the morning!

This is one happy daddy! He loves snuggles


This was a playground at the Mt Rainier Visitor's Center


A Helicopter that was in the visitor center


Trying to get a good picture of the 2 kiddo's is somewhat impossible anymore!


Edith Loves to play in the back of Daddy's truck

Roasting Hot Dogs for dinner

Hanging out with grandpa

In deep conversation with Grandpa